Happy Birthday, Connie Chung, Award-Winning Journalist

August 20, 2010

by
findingDulcinea Staff

American journalist Connie Chung forged new territory in network news and broadcast journalism. As the first Asian American and second woman to be a news anchor, Chung has earned many awards for her work, including three Emmys.

In 1971, she was became a national correspondant for the “CBS Evening News” with Walter Cronkite, where she covered topics such as the 1972 presidential election, the Watergate scandal, and the SALT I negotiations. She “earned a reputation as an intense, hardworking and tenacious reporter,” wrote People magazine, but she left the job because “every other story was boring” after Watergate.

She worked at many stations throughout her career, including CNN, NBC, MSNBC and ABC, headlining the shows “Eye to Eye with Connie Chung,” and “Face to Face with Connie Chung.” She had several highly publicized interviews with notables such as Magic Johnson after he broke the news about being HIV positive.

She is known for pushing the envelope, evident in her 1995 interview with Kathleen Gingrich, mother of Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Chung asked Ms. Gingrich what her son thought of first lady Hillary Clinton, telling her that it was “just between you and me.” Gingrich’s controversial response was aired, and Chung’s journalistic integrity was questioned for apparently misleading the 68-year-old.

Shortly after the interview, Chung left CBS for ABC, where her duties including co-hosting “20/20.” Her tenure at ABC is perhaps best remembered for interview of California Rep. Gary Condit, who was under investigation for the disappearance of his intern. In 2002, she was hired away be CNN to anchor the network’s weeknight evening newscast.

Chung’s work has earned her a host of awards, including three Emmy Awards, an Edward R. Murrow Award, the National Educational Media Network’s Golden Apple Award, and honors from American Women in Radio and Television.